Stylish NYers Don't Wear Pencil Skirts With Flats—They Exclusively Wear Them With This Heel Trend

As chic and polished as can be.

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 26: Camila Morrone is seen in Midtown on March 26, 2026 in New York City.
(Image credit: TheStewartofNY/GC Images/Getty Images)
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If skirts are an area of your wardrobe that feels sparse in 2026, especially compared to pants, shorts, and dresses, let me introduce you to the one silhouette you need to invest in to look "in the know" this year. Pencil skirts have taken over the skirt genre, showing up on A-listers like Hailey Bieber and Bella Hadid, as well as runway models at Toteme, Gucci, Saint Laurent, Khaite, and more. Everyone who's anyone in fashion is either producing pencil skirts or wearing them right now, but to do them correctly, you need to know one thing. No one with authority in the sartorial space is wearing pencil skirts with flats. It's just not a thing. Instead, they're styling them with heels, and one specific style is leading the charge: Heeled mules.

The combination was most recently seen on actress Camila Morrone, who is currently doing press for her new Netflix horror film, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen. Morrone was spotted in Midtown Manhattan on Thursday wearing an all-black ensemble (her preferred color combination throughout her press tour for the film) by Max Mara, including a cropped mock-neck sweater with elbow-length sleeves and a matching pencil skirt, both from the Italian brand's spring/summer 2026 collection. To finish off her pencil-skirt outfit, she and her stylist, Emma Jade Morrison, added a pair of sky-high heeled mules with a delicate peep-toe detail from Black Suede Studio.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 26: Camila Morrone is seen in Midtown on March 26, 2026 in New York City.

(Image credit: TheStewartofNY/GC Images/Getty Images)

On Camila Morrone: Max Mara top and skirt; Black Suede Studio Shania 100 Satin Mule ($345)

Styled by: Emma Jade Morrison

What makes heeled mules such a perfect partner for pencil skirts is how they elongate the foot and leg, which is key when you're wearing a skirt that cuts off at the knee. It's easy to look tall in a miniskirt, but pencil skirts can easily make someone appear shorter if the wrong footwear is worn with them, no matter how tall or short they are. Heeled mules are the ultimate solution, with super-tall versions like Morrone's looking just as polished and chic as kitten-heel alternatives that might provide owners with added comfort and wearability.

Below, recreate Morrone's look and shop all the best pencil skirts and heeled mules on the market this season.

Pencil Skirts + Heeled Mules Outfit

Get Camila's Look

Shop Pencil Skirts

Shop Heeled Mules

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Eliza Huber
Eliza Huber
Associate Editorial Director

Eliza Huber is currently the Associate Editorial Director at Who What Wear. She joined the company in 2021 as a fashion editor after starting her career as a writer at Refinery29, where she worked for four years. During her time at WWW, she launched Go Sports, the publication's sports vertical, and published four (and counting) quarterly issues tied to the WNBA, Formula One, and more. She also created two franchises, Let's Get a Room and Ways to Wear; profiled Dakota Fanning, Diane Kruger, Katie Holmes, Gracie Abrams, and Sabrina Carpenter for WWW's monthly cover features; and reported on new seasonal trends, up-and-coming designers, and celebrity style.